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Mingui Sun, PhD

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Biography

Mingui Sun, PhD, received a BS degree in instrumental and industrial automation in 1982 from the Shenyang Chemical Engineering Institute in Shenyang, China, and an MS degree in electrical engineering in 1986 from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also earned a PhD degree in electrical engineering in 1989. He was later appointed to the faculty in the Department of Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Sun’s research interests include neurophysiological signals and systems, biosensor designs, brain-computer interface, bioelectronics and bioinformatics. He has more than 450 publications.

A complete list of Dr. Sun's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.

Research Activities

Dr. Sun has been involved in the following research projects:

1) Miniature Medical Implants and Neuroengineering: During Dr. Sun’s sabbatical leave at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, he conducted research with his collaborators and developed a prototype of a grain-sized medical implantable device. They studied the problems of delivering electrical power to the electronic system within the device using microwave electromagnetic fields and performing data communication using delta-sigma modulation. A research paper has been prepared and submitted for publication. With the participation of Dr. Sun’s graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh and his collaborators at Huazhong, Dr. Sun also studied a special form of tubular implant that can be wrapped around a damaged nerve. This implant could be used to promote healing using electric stimulation.

2) Gates Foundation Project: With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Sun’s lab joined a multi-national research team consisting of the University of Pittsburgh, Imperial College in UK, University of Newcastle in Australia, University of Alabama, University of Colorado, Baylor School of Medicine, and Boston University to perform a large-scale study of diet and dietary related behavior in underdeveloped countries in African and Southeast Asia. The University of Pittsburgh team developed a new wearable device called eHat to be used for assessing the energy and nutrition intake of breast-feeding infants. They have also developed both hardware and software for another wearable device called eButton to study food preparation in families in underdeveloped countries.

3) Magic Socks Project: With a support from the Innovation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Sun studied Magic Socks, a wearable therapeutic device for the treatment of restless leg syndrome, a neurological sensory motor disorder. Dr. Sun constructed a prototype and is in the process of installing and calibrating stimulation components of this textile wearable device.